Responsibility
by 10joinfei
Summary: Zane has always been thought of as "responsible" but with three kids, a new job, and a century old million dollar debt, his "responsibility" might be pushed to the limit. Sequel to How Did I End Up In This Mess? Royalshipping!
1. Several Years Later

Responsibility

Summary: Zane has always been the "responsible" one. But with three kids to raise, a century old million dollar debt to repay, a visiting "relative," and a new job, he might find out that he isn't as responsible as he thought.

Pairings: Alexis/Zane, Jaden/Johan, Atticus/?

The door opened slightly, and then just as quickly slammed shut.

"Xander, I know you're there," Alexis said, almost laughing.

"How did you know it was me?" Xander asked, walking into the room.

"Because your sister isn't smart enough to check if I'm awake before sneaking into the room" Alexis crossed her arms and turned on a lamp, the clock read six in the morning.

"Sorry, but Nick dared me too" Xander apologized.

"And if Nick dared you to cross the ocean, would you do that too?" Alexis said, mock angry.

"She stole my cards" Xander explained, embarrassed.

This made Alexis laugh, she gestured for Xander to come near her.

"She hides everything in the back of her closet, in a pink shoebox" She whispered in his ear.

"Thank you mom" He said, visualizing his little sisters closet.

"Now go get it, and keep an eye on your sister, I'll be up in a few hours" Alexis said, doing some mental math and realizing she had only gotten four hours of sleep the past night.

Alexis patted him on the head softly. Xander jumped slightly at his mothers touch, and then ran out of the room smiling.

She went to shut off the lamp, but another hand turned on the opposite one.

"What time is it?" a scratchy voice asked.

"You have a few more hours until you need to go to work, just try to get some sleep" Alexis whispered, reaching over to turn off the light.

It had only been an hour when the door crashed open, and a tiny brown haired child ran into the room.

"MOMMY! Xander was digging around in my room!" Nicolette screamed, rushing into the room.

"Nick, why did you steal your brothers cards?" Alexis asked tired.

"I didn't steal them! He left them in my room last night! And he's going to destroy my stuff!" Nicolette screamed.

"Xander doesn't understand if he's making a mess, he's just thinking about his cards, just give them back to him" Zane ordered, turning on a lamp.

"Xander, I know where your cards are!" Nicolette screamed, running out of the room.

"Zane, you have a meeting" Alexis reminded.

"Why do they hold meetings the mornings after a duel that runs to two in the morning, I'll never understand" Zane grumbled, rolling out of bed and walking over to the bathroom.

"You could retire if you wanted to, stop complaining, you like it" Alexis laughed and got out of bed to check up on the children.

Zane rolled his eyes, and looked in the mirror.

"I hate my job, I hate my job, I hate my job so much" he lied to himself. Then he laughed, he didn't hate his job, quite the opposite, he was in his second to last year as a pro league duelist. Duelists were forced to retire at thirty five, and although he held the record for the most years on top (five sweet years as number one), he was also going to be forced into early retirement soon.

"Lex, just because you retired early, doesn't mean we all will" Zane said loudly enough for her to hear.

"I retired because of the dumb new rules that its unhealthy to duel on a professional grade duel disk while pregnant," Alexis yelled, barging in on him without any concern.

Yes, you heard it here first, for some reason, being knocked around and exposed to explosions is unhealthy when you're pregnant… whatever moron **didn't** think of that shouldn't have children.

"Your not pregnant now" He taunted.

"Lets see, a ten year old, a seven year old, and a one year old, when did you expect me to go back into the league. Your going to duel until you hit the maximum age, I'm going to make sure our children don't become like Hitomi Phoenix, okay?" Alexis said, nudging him out of the way so she could start putting on her makeup.

"Hitomi is a mix of the horrible features of both her parents," Zane said, thinking of the blue eyed girl.

At eight years old, Hitomi Phoenix was both obnoxious and spoiled thanks to her genes and doting father. A truly beautiful girl, with white hair and ice blue eyes. Much to her fathers despair and Zane's amusement, she had no apparent dueling talent.

"True, but Xander seems to have taken a liking to her, and we can't interfere if Xander feels close to someone" Alexis said, her voice going low as it always did when this subject came up.

"Alexis, our son has a slight case of aspersers syndrome, he's not retarded" Zane reassured her, his voice also going low.

"Look, I'm not saying that he is, but he doesn't like to be touched, he obsesses over duel monster cards like there worth more than his life, he hates to talk to people" Alexis said, listing his symptoms.

"So he's a bit antisocial, what's so important about that? He'll be fine, his dueling skills are on par with the pros" Zane said implying a topic that was very taboo with his wife.

"He's ten years old, look at Edo, he isn't entering the pro leagues early because spending more than five years in that hell hole makes people crazy" Alexis argued.

It was the same thing every week, Zane insisted that his son was ready, and Alexis would say that he wasn't.

"Nick is going to be ten soon" Zane said changing the subject.

"We're running out of time" Alexis said, the first summer was arriving.

"Three years, we still have time to figure it out" Zane said, placing a hand carefully on Alexis's shoulder.

"And what if we don't?" Alexis asked.

"Then we'll still have eight to eleven years to figure it out" Zane said harshly.

"Jamison isn't going to give us a choice you know, he threatened to spread our financial situation as a scandal, to tell everyone what price we might have to pay, but he would make himself look as a victim. I'm not subjecting Nick to something like that, the name was a bad enough demand" Alexis said uncomfortably, she had been married for nearly ten years, and still she was not comfortable with talking about Jamison. The fact that he had taken legal action against them, and they were the branch of the Rhodes family most financially ready to support demands had worsened their case.

They were in debt, a big decades old debt. One that they weren't able to pay back in money.

"The name was a threat, and you were planning on naming her after a relative of yours anyway" Zane said.

"He's taunting us Zane, and I'm not going to let her go without a fight" Alexis said, looking at the picture on the counter.

Alexis and Zane, with Nicolette and Xander holding baby Luca on their laps.

"How is he supposed to taunt us, he already has everything he wants from us" Zane said quietly.

"Because he's a bastard, and that's how he likes to do things, he plays with you, makes you uncomfortable, asserts his position, and then goes in for the kill.

"he's talking about a marriage, not a cat and mouse situation, and I understand it's a touchy subject, but if you could please just tell me what he says that makes you so uncomfortable, I'd appreciate it" Zane said.

He was talking about the three words Jamison said without fail at the end of each phone call, ones that would make Alexis go catatonic for a moment, and then cry her eyes out. Zane didn't know what they were, and although he had asked more times than he could count, she had refused to answer.

"I don't want to talk about it, Next time he calls, you can listen in if you want, but it's just going to make you uncomfortable." Alexis said, hearing a slight cry from outside the room.

Zane's heart sped up, the call was coming soon. But what had triggered this change of heart?

"I'll get him" Alexis said, walking into Luca's room.

Little Luca was almost a year old, and he was definitely the most unusual looking of their three children. The first of the three to inherit their mothers blond hair, he got his dad's blue green eyes, and didn't look like either of them. He looked, oddly enough, like his eldest uncle.

"Luca, baby you know the best times to cut in, you're so smart" She said, walking over to the crib nestled in the corner of Xander's room.

He cried out again, a sharp baby cry.

"I see you're awake…" Alexis said, picking up the tiny baby and smelling him.

Nothing.

She grabbed a bottle from the desk behind her.

Nothing.

"Did you hear us arguing? Is that it? Good boy, Mommy doesn't want to talk about that French pig anymore, especially with Daddy" She said, bouncing the baby up and down.

He instantly quieted down, and Alexis carried him into the kitchen, where Xander and Nicolette were slurping down leftover noodles.

"I would have made you two something if you had asked" Alexis said, placing Luca in a highchair and placing down some cheerios for the teething baby to eat.

"Noodles are better when frozen over night Mom" Xander said.

"And you and Daddy were talking in low voices, we know by now not to interrupt you when that happens" Nicolette smiled and resumed shoving the cold noodles in her mouth.

Alexis grabbed her cereal and poured herself a bowl. Even after ten years, she still hated cooking.

Zane walked into the room wearing a grey suit, looking frustrated.

"Have you seen my briefcase?" He asked.

Alexis pointed to the microwave. The black leather bag was sitting on top of it.

"Thank you, I'll be back late again, if he calls, tell me" Zane said, giving Nicolette and Luca a kiss on the head and sending a smile to Xander.

They were awaiting the phone call that came once every six months without fail. Usually in the dead of night, and never just to say hello.

A horrible conversation with Jamison. He would speak to whoever answered the phone, then to both of them, then Zane only, then Alexis only.

The conversation never ended with a pleasant goodbye. It ended with three horrible words uttered with a laugh from Jamison.

On your knees.

They brought up painful memories from the past and even worse predictions for the future.

Nicolette was supposed to marry Jamison Jr. A boy who was three years older, and thousands of miles away- and there was no way to stop it.

A/N:

This story is going to be told in alternating flashbacks, in universe, and flashFOWARDS.

Of course, I tend to tangent- I will deviate from the planned plot (yes, I have a pseudo plan!)

Till then

10join

Fei!


	2. New jobs and phone calls give stress

Okay, I cant write Kaiba- the abridged series influenced my handle on his personality- sorry.

Zane was sitting in a room with the Kaiba Corp panel. Kaiba had taken him under his wing a few years ago. He had commented that "Truesdale, you're the only other person in this league with half a brain." So the easy job that was waiting for him in accounting? It was gone; instead he was being groomed to be part of the board of share holders. It was a great thing in theory, not such a great thing in practice. It often involved boring meetings that ran late into the night, and then more meetings that started early in the morning.

Walking into the room, he realized that Kaiba was in his late forties, and still looked the same he had during his pro league career- in high school. Zane half entertained the idea that Seto Kaiba did not sleep, and he maintained his young appearance by selling his soul to the devil.

Zane was the only duelist in the room, everyone else was a business type, and had, gasp gone to college. Zane had a bachelors degree in business, he had gotten it by taking self taught classes (what else was he supposed to do on the long flights to and from tournaments?) but these men went to business school, and had masters degrees.

"You're late" one of the older ones said to him, it was just past eleven, when the meeting was set to begin.

"Traffic was bad" Zane apologized. Respect went a long way with these people, but he still felt a bit out of place.

"Let's begin. Our profits are still down by four percent, and we need to make final decisions about who to accept in for the next season. We need more publicity, and because so many of our best duelists are hitting their last years, were going to have to really step it up a notch" Kaiba said. The meetings always started like this, a short sweet and to the point speech from the boss, and then they would get to work.

Imagine ten men sitting around a large table looking over resume's for dueling hopefuls, only allowing in about ten or so per year. Now imagine thousands of applications left over, very few of the hopefuls being even halfway qualified. Makes you want to rip your hair out, right?

"Another duel academy alumni" A booming voice said over the tremendous pile. All duel academy alumni's applications were sent to Zane, because he was the only one there to have graduated from said academy.

"Reject" Zane said. Any blue that got a recommendation from Crowler saying that he was an "elite duelist" was automatically rejected. Simply because Crowler tended to reuse his recommendations and "elite duelist" basically meant:

It's a regular student, nothing special, but it boosts our rating as the number one school to get accepted into the pro leagues with.

After a few hours, they had finished sorting. There were about a hundred maybe's who were going to get looked over again. Then it would be cut down to fifty who would be brought in for interviews, and then ten would actually get to duel.

Zane had been on the board for a few years and sort of liked looking at the duel academy hopefuls, it brought him a nostalgic feeling.

"I'm too young to be feeling nostalgic" Zane mumbled, looking at the tiny pile of duel academy students he felt were worthy.

"You don't think your going a bit too hard on them do you?" An elderly man, at almost eighty asked, looking at Zane's pile that was by far the smallest.

"I went to the academy, I know what to look for" Zane explained, sorting the pile into three piles: Blues, Girls, Others.

"Zane, please look at this pile, it's from the over sea's duelists" Kaiba said, handing over a pile with about twenty resumes.

Zane thought it was funny at how people from over seas wanted to duel in the Japanese circuit so much. Japanese duelists were among the best in the world, but circuits such as the Italian and German were highly competitive. Everyone knew the North American circuit was crap (bringing in duelists such as Bandit Keith) but it paid the most by far.

As expected- they were all high ranked, but not the top. Zane knew better than anyone that when you're on the top, you don't want to compromise your position.

He sighed and began looking for ones who would bring attention to the circuit, nothing too gimmicky, but ones with talent, and was attractive. It was a trade secret, but if you were attractive, you were more likely to be accepted, because you would sell.

"We can continue this tomorrow, thank you for your work" Kaiba said, dismissing them.

Zane began to pack up his briefcase with his _not sure yet_ pile that he would review once he got home.

"Truesdale, could you stay back a minuet please" Kaiba asked.

The others took this as a signal to _get the hell out_.

Leaving Zane alone.

"Truesdale, I'm going to be blunt about this: I'm not sure if I want you to duel this season" Kaiba said, sitting in his big boss chair.

Zane swallowed and stayed calm.

"Is it rude of me to inquire why?" Zane asked.

"You are one of the best we've had since the beginning of the league, but it would seem as if you are a ringer. Nobody wants to duel you because they are sure that they would loose, and as fun as it is to pair you with Yuki or Phoenix, it would seem as if your more of a novelty or a given than a real exiting player." Kaiba explained, taking out a long list from his brief case.

"This is your record over the past 12 years. When you go up to duel, there is no surprise anymore," Kaiba said.

**Zane Truesdale, age 33 **

**Wins: 1056**

**Ties: 2**

**Losses: 3 **

"You've tied Yuki twice, Lost to Phoenix once, and have had to forfeit two duels. The chances of you loosing are a million to one. I'm not going to tell you to throw your matches, because you're too good to do that. But you don't really fill as many seats as you used too, Truesdale. When you were a rookie, you filled them because you were attractive and young. Then ten years ago you filled them because your name was always all over the papers. Then you filled them because you were a dueling legend, a powerhouse. You're married with three children, so you don't fill them for your face anymore. You are out of the papers constantly, which I both admire and envy, but that doesn't help you. And everyone has seen you duel before. People don't want to go to your duels because they don't want you to wipe the floor with their favorite duelists" Kaiba explained.

_So I'm loosing my job because I'm too good? _

"Which is why you offered me the job on the board" Zane assumed.

"No, I did that because your smart and your opinions are slightly helpful. What I am proposing is that you don't compete, but we bring you in to duel the top duelists," Kaiba said, hoping that Zane wouldn't freak out.

_I'm a novelty… I don't know whether to be offended or honored. _

"I understand" Zane said with silent disappointment.

"And… one more thing" Kaiba said.

_What could make this worse? _Zane thought.

"Were going to put you in for the pre season rank determining duels, they will be highly publicized, so if you need a body guard, just call the corporation and we will provide you with one" Kaiba said, in an _I'm sorry, if this is any consolation _tone.

Zane nodded, trying his best not to argue with his boss.

"I'm sorry Truesdale" Kaiba said once Zane reached for the door.

_Yeah, so am I… _

Zane was more disappointed than angry: not only was he being forced into early retirement, he was going to have his last duels in the PRE season.

Walking through the front door, he tried to keep his lips from going into a frown. It wasn't like he had suddenly become happy go lucky, but he was most definitely less angry when he was around his children.

Nicolette was sitting on the couch of the living room with her doll's clothing spread out around her. Luca was sitting next to her, drooling on a Barbie doll.

"Daddy!" She shot up from the couch and ran over to him, hugging his leg.

Zane tried and failed to brace himself, and was pushed back a few feet.

"Nick, how was your day?" He asked.

"Fun! Luca was really crabby and Mommy kept apologizing to me all day though, it was weird!" Nicolette said smiling and running over to the explosion of doll clothes.

"Just clean it up when you're done okay?" Zane asked.

"I promise" Nicolette said, in a tone that implied she had no intention of cleaning it up.

Zane rolled his eyes and walked down the hallway to Xander's room.

Xander was sitting in a trance, staring at his cards.

Zane flickered the lights once to alert him of his presence.

"Hi Dad. Dad do you think that cyber ice dragon could be powered up with this card? I found it in your leftover cards box" Xander said, holding up a piece of cardboard.

Zane almost smiled when he saw it.

"You could definitely power up the cyber ice dragon with that card, but it depends if you know how to play it" Zane said.

"You use it to fuse the machine cards, such as the cyber dragon and the winter dragon" Xander said, with an eye roll of his own.

"You know how to use it, but do you know how to play it?" Zane said, leaving his son with a puzzling question.

The smell of slightly burned vegetables alerted Zane that something was cooking.

He walked into the room to find Alexis dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"A bit stressed, Luca puked on my clothing and I didn't want to change into something uncomfortable to cook dinner in. How was your day?" Alexis rambled.

Instead of his usual:

"Boring and sent straight from hell"

He said:

"I'll tell you once the kids are asleep"

Alexis stopped what she was doing and looked panicked.

"I just don't want them to be worried" He said.

"And what about me!?" Alexis said, looking like she wanted to have a heart attack.

At nine thirty, once the children were safely tucked into bed, Zane and Alexis went into the quietest place in the house- the crawl space above their closet.

Both of them sat on a stair and shut the door. They were carrying a key, a flashlight, and a telephone.

"What is it?" Alexis asked.

Zane sneezed from the dust specks (of doom!) floating around his head, but spoke in a quiet voice.

"Kaiba is forcing me into early retirement," He said calmly.

Alexis screeched.

"Seriously?"

Zane put a finger to her lips and continued.

"He says that I'm too much of a given, a novelty, that I am basically guaranteed to win, so there's no excitement. I don't have a choice, my last duel will be against the person they announce as number one for this season, and I'll be brought in for legend duels, but I have to retire" Zane said, quietly, his eyes bursting with disappointment.

"Zane, you won't have a job anymore?" Alexis asked quietly, doing some quick mental math. They had bought the new house once Luca was on the way, they hadn't paid it off yet. With neither of them working…

"I'll continue to work on the board at Kaiba Corp. But I wont be a duelist" Zane said, not hiding his disappointment.

Alexis wrapped her arms around him,

"I'm sorry Zane, it's completely unfair and it sucks" Alexis said, not helping at all.

Zane nodded, and let Alexis rest her head against his shoulder; she seemed more surprised then upset, as if she thought it was a joke.

"How are we going to tell them?" Alexis asked.

Zane paled.

"I'll tell them that I was offered a really good job at Kaiba Corp, and it was someone else's chance to be number one" He said hoping it was a sufficient answer

"How did you think of that?" Alexis asked.

"My publicist emailed me and said that was going to be the official story." Zane said, ashamed.

"Are you okay with your new job?" Alexis asked, uncertainty.

Zane inhaled, and shook his head.

"I don't want to give up dueling, and this job pays just as well, if not better, but it's disappointing" Zane said, choosing his words carefully.

"I'm sorry, I really am. One of the kids is bound to wake up, we should go back downstairs" Alexis said, grabbing the key and unlocking the door, letting them back into the bedroom.

Zane took a shower, when he walked out, Alexis was looking pale while she spoke on the phone in French.

"aucun je les ai détestés... Oui... J'ai juste choisi de ne pas les employer... Aucun je ne pense pas que je sais où on est... Ah, vous ... Vous payerez eux que j'assume ? Aucun je ne suis pas bien avec lui... Je n'ai pas dit cela... Non, je ne dis pas que non plus... Arrêtez svp juste avec ceci... Ah, il est ici maintenant... Oui, je comprends "

"_No I hated them… Yes… I just chose not to use them… No I don't think I know where one is… Oh, you did… You'll pay for them I assume? No I'm not okay with it… I didn't say that… No, I'm not saying that either… Please just stop with this… Oh, he's here now… Yes, I understand_"

Alexis held out the phone to Zane and made a fake gun with her other hand.

Zane shut his eyes tight, took the phone, and hoped for the best.

"Zane, how not wonderful it is to speak to you again" Jamison said in very shaky and very formal Japanese.

"What do you want?" Zane asked.

"Your daughter has been raised in the lime light of an uncivilized at best society, I think it would be best if she took some etiquette classes, which I will pay for, considering your financial state. Not only must she take the class, she must pass and graduate first in her class. That is my task for you for the next six months. I will call to check in on her progress, she starts next Saturday- have the little slut of your wife take up the phone, I want her to hear the next part" Jamison spoke slowly using formal Japanese. Zane thought it was ironic that he said such harsh words in a formal dialect.

Alexis grabbed a cordless phone and turned it on.

"Now that I have both of you together, I'd like to tell you that Jamison Jr. has taken an apparent interest in dueling, which he may act on as a hobby, but not a career. I think I will send him to spend a week or two at your home so he can understand how pitiful the life of a professional duelist is. He has a break from school in two weeks, and he will be spending it with you, and no you may not disagree" Jamison said in a superior tone.

"Fine… its better if Nick and Jamison Jr. meet each other before they are at an age where they will not be able to connect" Alexis said reluctantly, sending Zane a look that said _I'll explain my reasons later_.

"Good, Zane I wish to speak to Alexis alone" Jamison said.

Zane didn't move.

"Il a raccroché?"

"_Did he hang up?"_ A voice asked in French.

Zane closed his eyes; he had a very tiny understanding of French, but not one big enough for him to understand everything.

"Oui" Alexis said

_Yes_

"Vous êtes en aucune position pour ignorer mes commandes, vous rappelez juste cela_" _Jamison said happily.

_You are in no position to ignore my commands, remember that_.

Alexis was silent. Zane was confused.

"Sur vos genoux" Jamison said before hanging up.

_On your knees_

Alexis went catatonic and Zane was thinking hard.

_Sur is on top, Vos is your, genoux… what the hell does genoux mean!? _

"Lex, Lexi, what did he say to you?" Zane asked.

"Sur vos genoux" Alexis said quietly.

"On top you're something. What does it mean" Zane said gently, touching her shoulders.

"It means on your knees, and it's what he said to me the night he tried to rape me" Alexis began to cry. Zane held her in his arms, unsure of what to say. He knew what on your knees generally meant. They didn't talk about Jamison, not often at least. The subject was 100 percent taboo. Zane didn't care anymore, he wanted the whole truth.

"Lex, tell me what happened that night" Zane said quietly.

TO BE CONTINUED!

So yeah… written in haste, hoping you enjoy!

10join

Fei!


	3. And you thought you hated him before!

Chapter 3: And you thought you hated him before…

A/N: Okay, I'm going to be in Utah until next Saturday… but leave me reviews so I can see if your liking it or not!

Last time:

"Lex, Tell me what happened that night" Zane said.

Alexis was pale, and looked at her husband in disbelief.

"I don't like talking about it" She said, pulling her knees into her chest.

"Give me the short version" Zane said, rubbing small circles on her back, both to sooth her, and to try to get out his anger at Jamison. He had the NERVE to say that to his wife! Okay, so they weren't married at that point, but that still took some nerve.

"Jamison locked me in his room for twelve hours. When I was about to crack he told me he would let me go if I slept with him. I refused. He grabbed me and we did just about everything you can do except have sex. His parents found out, and I was blamed" Alexis said in one breath, beginning to cry from the memory.

Zane was speechless, he knew Jamison was a bastard, he didn't know he was that much of one. He knew what he was going to do, he was going to knock some sense into Jamison Jr.'s head, just incase they couldn't get Nicolette out of the marriage.

They spent the entire night frozen in shock, neither sleeping, or doing anything more than breathing and blinking.

Flashback (because I know you all wanted to see this)

Sixteen year old Alexis was trying to sleep, but the burning thirst in her throat kept her awake.

The door opened quickly and Jamison walked in, dressed from dinner.

"Can I eat please" Alexis asked.

"No" Jamison answered simply, ignoring the girl lying on his bed in misery and going to brush his teeth.

"Please, let me out, I wont tell your parents that you locked me in here" Alexis said.

"You said that right after breakfast when I first took you here, your going to have to raise the stakes" Jamison said smiling at her. A smile that some might see as attractive, if you didn't know the true nature of the man behind it.

"What do I have to give you that you don't already have?" Alexis said quietly.

Jamison's smile grew.

"Glad you asked. You could pay for your ticket out of here with your body" Jamison said, pinning her to the bed.

Alexis panicked, she knew what he meant, and worst of all, knew he was going to follow through with it.

"Jamison, you didn't have to lock me in here to get me to kiss you" Alexis said, trying to keep Jamison from going crazy on her.

"I don't want you to kiss me, well, I do, among other things" He said, beginning to kiss her neck.

"Please don't" Alexis said, trying in vain to push him off.

Jamison just moved from her neck to her mouth. Alexis was trapped, and knew it. She kissed him back, hoping he'd be satisfied.

"You know, your kissing has vastly improved since last year" Jamison said, breaking the kiss.

Alexis sat up, and wiped her mouth in disgust of what she had just done.

"I hadn't noticed a change in yours" Alexis said quietly.

"Well, you weren't really trying to enjoy it, were you? You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you had practice" Jamison said, smiling evilly at her.

_Well, there were quite a few games of spin the bottle during school, not that I played much. And a few times with Zane, but not enough to make a difference, right?_

"I didn't, if you'll excuse me I'll be getting something to drink, I'm dizzy" Alexis said, jumping off the bed and running to the door. She pulled on the handle, but found it was locked. Jamison's form loomed behind her.

"It's still locked, and I'm not satisfied," Jamison said, pinning her to the door.

"Please stop" She said, as his hands went for her shirt, unbuttoning one button at a time while keeping her pressed to the door with his shoulders and legs.

She pushed on him with his hands, but he overpowered her, big time.

The buttons were undone, and the shirt was hanging loosely around her shoulders.

"Why you try to hide these, I'll never understand," he said, one hand gently feeling her breast.

Alexis screamed "STOP" as Jamison grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the bed, pinning her in their starting position.

"You scream and I'll make your life a living hell" He said, pulling her hair and placing his hand over her mouth.

She bit on his hand, and said bitterly

"It already is one!"

He shook out his hand and slapped her across the face,

"I will not let my future WIFE display such violence" He said, beginning to pull down her jeans.

"Don't you dare" She said, trying to knee him in the groin.

"You missed, and why not, what difference will a few years make, your family practically gift wrapped you, why shouldn't I take full advantage of what was given to me?" He asked, putting more pressure on her legs.

Alexis was stunned at the words spewing out of his mouth.

"I have to be a virgin when we get married" She said as he pulled her jeans around her ankles.

"Nobody will know but me, and who am I telling?" Jamison said, pulling his shirt off.

Alexis glared at him.

"It's not the same, you can't fool G-d," Alexis said, grabbing the blanket off the bed and wrapping herself in it.

"I'm going to hell anyway, might as well have some fun beforehand" He said, tying to pry the blanket out of her hands.

"I could get pregnant" She said quietly.

"There are these things called condoms, and I could steal them if I wanted" Jamison said, pulling the room key out of his pocket.

"Someone will see you, and know what you are doing in here" Alexis said, finally discovering her argument.

"I'll be sneaky" He said.

"I'll scream for help while you're gone" Alexis said.

"You were screaming all afternoon" Jamison pointed out.

"People are in the house, in this wing at this time of day" Alexis said.

"Then maybe I'll just stay in here" Jamison said, trying to pull the blanket off of Alexis again.

"But I could get pregnant" Alexis argued.

"Nobody gets pregnant their first time" Jamison said, finally managing to get Alexis out from the blanket.

"Yes, plenty of girls do" Alexis said.

Jamison weighed his options. His face lit up.

"I promise I will not have sex with you until we get married" Jamison said finally.

Alexis was relived and went to get her clothing.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Getting dressed" she said.

"Why?"

"Because you're going to let me go, right?" Alexis asked, her voice shaking.

Jamison paced around the room.

"Put your chin at the edge of the bed" He said.

Alexis looked at him funny.

"On your knee's, on the floor, put your chin on the edge of the bed." Jamison said, beginning to unzip his pants.

End Flashback

The next morning was increasingly uneventful, Zane and Alexis hadn't moved since the night before, and were only hit by fatigue when the alarm clock went off. Alexis absentmindedly hit the alarm clock. Zane sat with one thought in his head, one that had been repeating all night.

_I am going to figure a way to get out of this or I'm going to kill Jamison, whichever comes first. _


	4. Killing Time

A/N: I have two things to say:

I got sun poising in Utah… yes in snowy mountains I still managed to get sun poisoning.

I read the Death Note novel, and it is amazing! Anyone who's read the manga or watched the anime, I suggest picking up the book because I actually did not put it down the second I bought it until I finished it! I freaked out the starbucks barista by ordering without even looking up, it was so much fun! Wait… I'm a Dunkin Doughnuts owner; I shouldn't be drinking that crappy over priced coffee anyway… heheheh

Here's your chapter:

* * *

The night was painful, to say the least. Neither Zane nor Alexis slept the entire time, their hearts beating too quickly to allow their brain to shut down. Xander, Nick, and Luca were under the impression that a friend of Alexis's son was coming to visit for the next few weeks. They didn't have the heart to tell their children what the real, true, reason for Jamison Jr.'s visit.

In other news: Zane's retirement had been announced to the public. The public went crazy. Zane's last match was to appear as announced (to the person going in as number one for the next season) but there would be five other matches happening during the pre season. All were sold out faster than Hannah Montana live (which, according to the article I read on it, was within the first five minuets). Jamison Jr. was to attend three of the matches during his stay.

That is, if Zane didn't kill him first…

The train station was crowded beyond belief. Alexis shoved herself through the crowd muttering under her breath in peel the paint off the walls, French cursing. It didn't help that Jamison Jr.'s flight had been delayed an hour, so he wasn't due to arrive at the station for at least another 30 minuets.

_Well this sucks... food, food would be wonderful. _She thought- looking around for a café or a vending machine.

A machine full of candy stood in front of her, and she sucked in her breath while looking for something acceptable.

_I'm still not down to the same weight I was when I lost Nick's pregnancy weight, should I really be eating this… did Xander remember to eat breakfast? Oh I know I should have woken him up to eat before I left, Zane cant be counted on to remember these things! _

The moral dilemma went through her brain- snack or diet. Which was more important?

_Well, I'm not going to be in the press anymore, which is no reason to get fat before I'm 40. But in reality I don't have to worry about being a size two anymore if that's going to be the case… No that's a mean thing to think. I should be more worried about being healthy anyway… okay I've made my decision. _

With an empty stomach, a very annoyed Alexis Truesdale walked up from the train station and went in search of a market so she could buy something healthy.

A convince store was directly across the street from the station. Alexis made her way inside, pulling her hair into a ponytail. She walked over to the refrigerated section and pulled out a banana.

_I still have a half an hour to kill, maybe a magazine might distract me for a while. Or it might just depress me, whatever I might as well…_

She walked to the magazine rack located by the window and perused the selection.

_Girls Manga, Boys Manga, Adult Manga, Teen Magazine, Porn, Pseudo Porn, American Imported Fashion Magazine, Italian Imported Fashion Magazine, French Imported Fashion Magazine, Shopping Magazine, Gossip Magazine, National Inquirer, Little boy Dueling Magazine, Duelist Digest… Nothing particularly interesting. _

She picked up Duelist Digest, and began flipping through it.

_They haven't announced the rookies yet? Isn't Zane working on that, yeah I think he is… Edo's voted to be number one this season, Fans are still petitioning to have Zane in the league… They're having a tag team tournament before the actual season starts. That's kind of interesting… Seto Kaiba is so rich that he screwed the rules again, I am so completely and totally bored this is ridiculous. _

Alexis paid for her banana and walked out into the busy streets. There was a small card shop in her line of site.

_I'll see if they have anything for Xander or Nick to use… _She thought, walking in.

"Excuse me; do you happen to have any cards from the Mythral dream packs?" Alexis asked the teenage boy manning the register.

He didn't look up from the book he was reading, and pointed to a box located on a high shelf. There were maybe three booster packs located in the dusty box.

"Were practically sold out of the booster packs, its kind of an old set if you know what I mean" He said.

Alexis took a breath in and looked at the cards behind the glass case, the florescent lights made it difficult to see the cards due to a glare.

"Do you happen to have any individual cards from the sets? Perhaps a card that you could only buy directly from industrial illusions?" Alexis asked, having full intent of what she wanted to buy.

The boy still did not look up and rolled his eyes into his book.

"No we don't, and what kind of money do you think this shop has? Those kinds of cards are only available to professionals, and for a pretty penny as well" He said, clearly annoyed.

Alexis looked in the case of cards again, and bit her tongue to keep from laughing.

"Can I see that one, the one in the back?" She asked, pointing to the card in question.

The boy looked at the card and laughed.

"Why that one? It's worthless!" He said, taking a key chain out from on top of the register.

"Worthless? Why would you say that?" She said, peering at the card.

"It's a common card, just a outdated dragon spell. And its been marked, so it wont activate on a duel disk" He said, unlocking the case and fumbling for it.

"Marked?" She asked.

"It appears to have been signed by a famous duelist, and the handwriting is almost an exact match, but it's misspelled, so it's clearly a fake" The boy said, pulling on the card and laying it on the counter.

"Then why is it behind glass?" Alexis asked.

"Because we don't often get rare cards in here, and because you can hardly see what the cards inside the glass are, it tricks people" The boy admitted

"May I?" Alexis asked,

The boy nodded.

Alexis picked up the card and smiled in nostalgia. She had the appearance of examining the card, although she knew what it said.

_Zane Truesdal _

"How much for it?" Alexis asked.

"Two dollars" He said quickly, thinking _Sucker_.

Alexis opened up her purse and paid for the card. Then she began laughing.

"What's so funny, you just paid for a useless piece of fake garbage" He said.

"I can attest to you sir, that this autograph is genuine" Alexis said, smiling.

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"The handwriting is almost exact, to anyone who's ever seen an autograph of Zane Truesdale's. But the E is missing; care to explain how it's real?"

Alexis smiled.

"It was late, he had signed almost three hundred autographs and did not notice the pen was almost out of ink, and all he wanted to do was sleep. That's why the E is missing." She said in a know it all voice.

"A nice scenario, but care to prove it?" He said, looking up from his book and staring her straight in the eye.

She reached for her cell phone and hit send twice, she put it on speaker.

"Don't say anything if you want your proof" She said, as the phone rang for a third time.

He picked up.

"Yes? Did you pick up Jamison Jr. yet?" He said, slightly panicked.

"No, his flight was delayed, I'm killing time. I have a question for you" Alexis said calmly.

"What is it?" Zane said, slightly amused.

The teenage boy strained to hear over the low quality of the speaker phone's sound.

"Do you remember, about ten years ago, when you were at your cousin's thirteenth birthday party? You were roped into helping out with the favors?" Alexis said.

"Yes, what's your point?" Zane said, amused.

"Remember that you made a mistake on one of them?" Alexis said almost laughing.

"Yes," Zane said, even more amused.

"Can you tell me what that mistake was?" Alexis asked, she could feel him rolling his eyes over the phone.

"I misspelled my own name, I left off the final E, you made fun of me for weeks afterwards, calling me Zane Trues-dall" Zane said, slightly annoyed.

"Thank You" Alexis said, looking at the boys gaping mouth.

"What was the point of that?" Zane asked, confused.

"Proving a point to someone, I'll talk to you later, bye" Alexis hung up the phone.

The teenage boy was in a state of shock.

"How… how did you know that? How do you know ZANE TRUESDALE?" he asked, impressed, shocked, and skeptical.

Alexis broke out into a grin.

"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Alexis Truesdale" She said, picking up the card and leaving the shop.

She walked down the street briskly, and checked her watch. She had killed a bit of time in the card shop, but now was thoroughly and totally bored, with fifteen minutes to kill.

_Next is… hey is that Edo? _She thought, looking at the silver haired man carrying a small girl on his back.

She walked in the general direction of them, trying to get a better glimpse before she approached.

_Yep, it's them_. She recognized that grey suit and ugly tie combo anywhere.

They walked into a small clothing store, Alexis followed.

The little girl was looking through some frilly skirts and Edo looked painfully bored. Alexis squeezed his shoulder and he turned around, startled.

"Oh, it's just you" he said, secretly thanking whatever supernatural being he could for this improvement.

"What brings you all the way out here? There are clothing stores near your apartment" Alexis said, looking at the little girl run from rack to rack, picking out clothing that was definitely overpriced.

"Her mother has decided to shirk her responsibilities, fly to Italy, and the court gave me full custody until her return, followed with another evaluation afterwards," Edo explained.

"And you feel guilty, and asked her what she wanted to do this weekend" Alexis said, finishing his thought.

"She wanted to go shopping for clothing that no other girl in her school has" He said, rolling his eyes.

"They wear uniforms…" Alexis said quietly.

"I may have been home schooled until high school, but I know that much. She has abandonment issues so I wanted to make it up to her" Edo explained.

"Edo, have you ever considered getting re-married?" Alexis asked.

"I'm a pro duelist, and like all pro duelists, all I attract are women who want to use me, or fan girls" He shuddered.

"Hey, I happen to be married to a pro duelist, does that apply to me as well?" She asked, in mock anger.

Edo rolled his eyes.

"You knew him before, besides he never would have made a move if you didn't sleep with him" Edo muttered the last part.

Alexis widened her eyes.

"I understand that the two of you get along now, but did that really come out of Zane's mouth?" Alexis asked, silently adding _because if it is I'll kill him_.

"Your brother told me that, not that I believed him. Anyway, I've heard the **whole,**unabridged story from you, think about it, do you really think that's the kind of guy he is? He was more freaked out then you were." Edo asked.

Alexis thought back to the morning after, when they figured it all out. It had been a while since she told Edo the story- he was moping about Hitomi being a mistake, and out of pity, she released most of the details.

_Edo does have a point…_

CUE FLASHBACK!

The morning after…

Alexis was in the state of half sleep, half awareness. The itching of her shoulders told her that she was wearing her hair down. The coldness of her back told her that she was not adequately clothed. The pain in her head told her that she shouldn't have had those last few drinks. The slight aching pain between her legs? She wasn't sure what that told her.

_What happened last night, I can't remember anything_ she thought, racking her brain for anything more than snapshots of memory.

_Went to the party with Zane, met up with Edo, and drank more than I should have. Then what? Zane was kind of drunk, and insisted he couldn't drive. I was drunk too, right? Yeah I'm sure I was. We rented a room because we couldn't get a cab that late, and Zane was driving his dad's car… there was only one bed in the room right? What happened past that…?_

She pulled the blankets around her body to shield the cold.

_He insisted I take the bed, and that there was enough room in the armchair for him to sleep. I think we agreed that the bed was big enough for the two of us after an argument… he gave me his shirt to wear over my underwear I think. I think he stripped down to his boxers once he thought I was asleep… no that's not what happened. He went to bed in his suit pants, which I laughed at him for… I went to kiss him goodnight… ugh this is frustrating. _

The shower was running in the bathroom, she could hear it.

_Um… what happened after that? _

Alexis squinted at the light; it wasn't doing anything for her hangover.

She debated cold vs. headache for a minuet, and jumped out of bed to close the shades.

It was only after she returned to the warm safety of the bed when she realized something. She was naked…

Then it hit her.

_I think we had sex!!! Yeah, I think we started making out, and then it turned into sex! That's what happened last night… I think… _

Then it hit her again, harder.

_Oh my g-d, I think we had sex! I may or may not have slept with him last night! The signs point to yes, but I'm hoping I'm remembering things wrong. _

She wracked her memory again…

_His hands, I remember his hands being over me, really warm and gentle. I kind of remember pain… I think I do at least… this sucks, and I can't ask him if we did or not because that would just be embarrassing! Why the hell cant I remember what happened. _

The sound of the shower stopped.

_Quick, pretend to be asleep. _

She shut her eyes and snuggled into a warm spot in the bed, hoping her acting was better than it seemed to be.

The bathroom door opened and Zane's footsteps went from quiet as if sneaking, to normal in a matter of seconds.

"Your awake, stop faking it" Zane said.

"How did you know?" Alexis asked.

"Your shoulders were moving with your breaths. This indicates you were thinking about breathing, which indicates that you were awake." Zane said, sitting on the edge of the bed in nothing but a towel and a pair of boxers.

"Why the hell are you so smart?" Alexis asked, sitting up, wrapping herself with the bed sheet.

"Did you figure it out yet?" Zane asked, not looking at her.

"What?" Alexis asked, actually clueless.

"Do you remember what happened last night?" Zane asked shamefully.

"I have a very vague memory, but I managed to put it together" Alexis said quietly.

"I can't remember it at all, but I also put it together. I'm sorry, if you want to blame me you can. It was probably my fault" Zane said, sorting through the pile of clothing for what was his.

"I don't blame you, I blame Edo for getting us drunk, and I blame myself for being dumb enough to drink in the first place." Alexis said, blushing as he threw her clothing on the bed.

"No, it's my fault, go shower" Zane said, taking his clothing and pointing her to the bathroom.

_Why can't we just say it and move on… I guess its kind of a big deal to him too, I mean, he was probably a virgin too… wait a second… oh shit! What am I going to do about Jamison!? _

Alexis blushed and started to rise up from the bed.

Zane blushed as well, and handed her the towel from around his neck.

She wrapped it around her body as best she could, now fully aware that she was naked in front of a guy she was pretty much in love with.

"Please close your eyes" She said, picking up her clothing in one hand, holding the towel up with the other.

Zane turned towards the window and shut his eyes.

Alexis, as quickly as possible, ran into the bathroom, slamming the door.

She walked back into the room a few minutes later, wearing the dress from the night before and a towel around her shoulders.

"If your mad at me please just say it, I'll drop you home once we leave." Zane said.

"Are your parents going to notice you were gone?" Alexis asked.

"No, they took my brother and are visiting relatives, yours?" Zane was very interested with the tassels hanging off of the duster, not looking up for even a second.

"Atticus is out on a date, and shouldn't be expected home until ten at night tonight, and my parents went to the beach for the holidays" Alexis explained.

"Just say it," Zane said after a long silence.

"Say what? Zane I'm not mad at you. I really am not mad at you… we had sex, people have been doing it since the beginning of time. You're not going to be burned at the stake for it… well I wont, do they do that to people of your religion?" Alexis began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" He asked staring at her.

"You have to be the most unusual twenty one year old I've ever met. Most guys I know would be like "dude I just scored." You on the other hand are begging me to not be mad at you for something that really wasn't your fault." She laughed again.

_I can't believe he's so serious about this! It's actually hysterical. Of course I won't be laughing after Jamison finds out, and he will… _

"It is my fault, and if you could just admit it, we could both move on with our lives" Zane said, reaching for his shoes, lost somewhere under the bed.

"Shut up; please stop trying to be selfless. So I'm a bit irked, but its better you than someone else right?" Alexis said, smiling hopefully.

Zane stopped for a minuet, before handing her shoes to her.

"Come on, I'll drop you home"

_Well, that was lovely. _

END FLASHBACK.

"Why do you always have to be right?" She asked, rolling her eyes.

"I went to college," He said bluntly.

"MUST EVERYONE HOLD IT OVER MY HEAD THAT I DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGE!?" Alexis yelled.

It happened almost all the time. Ever since she was little, she hated when people thought she wasn't smart. Now as an adult, people made her feel inferior that she didn't have a degree. She had barely graduated high school, thanks to becoming pregnant during her senior year.

"I'm not, it's my general insult to your husband that I have two P.H.D.s that I got before I was twenty and he has a bachelors that he got by taking online classes. It just happened to fit the situation" Edo said.

Hitomi ran to her father with a dozen or so outfits piled in her arms.

"I want these!" She exclaimed, her namesake blue eyes shining in excitement.

"Okay, here why don't we go pay for them?" Edo said, taking the massive pile and beginning to walk over to the register.

"Hitomi did you try them on?" Alexis asked, feeling pity that Edo was too concerned with pleasing his daughter to use common sense.

"Hello Mrs. Truesdale… No I didn't, but these are the ones I want!" Hitomi stamped her tiny Mary Jane covered foot.

"Hitomi, you need to try them on before you buy them, to make sure they fit and accent your features" Alexis said, leaning down to eye level.

"Hitomi, listen to Alexis and go try the outfits on first" Edo said, handing her back the pile.

"Mommy lets me buy stuff without trying it on first!" Hitomi said smiling evilly.

_Oh that was a low blow… that child definitely takes after her father on attitude. _

"Well when you go shopping with you mom, then you can buy what you want. For now, you have to try the things on first." Edo said, clearly annoyed.

Hitomi stamped her foot again, but proceeded to the dressing room at the back of the store.

"Thank you, why are you here anyway?" Edo asked.

"I'm picking up someone at the train station, but I have some time to kill" Alexis said, taking a quick glance at her watch.

"Oh… so what's the real story behind Zane's retirement?" Edo asked quietly.

Alexis flinched.

"I have no idea what you are talking about" She said quietly.

"Have you ever had a serious duel against Zane? He wasn't going to quit for all the money in the world, he loves it too much. What really happened?" Edo asked.

Alexis did a quick survey of the store.

"The walls have ears…" She whispered.

"I'm not dumb enough to believe that BS story you told the press… just tell me" He said firmly.

Alexis pulled him into the back corner of the store, where a bunch of shoes were lined up.

"He wasn't quote unquote 'selling' well enough, and nobody wanted to duel him so he was forced into early retirement" Alexis said at a hardly audible whisper

"I could understand that, they're probably trying to mimic the commercial success of the American Dueling League. It's common practice for them to kick someone who wasn't pulling in the fans, since it's a singles event. It's not exactly fair, but its how they pay so much… what are you going to do anyway?" Edo asked,

"About what?" Alexis asked,

"Money" he said quietly.

"Zane is working for Kaiba now, it's pretty much the same pay, with much more hours of work" Alexis explained.

"Oh… that's unfortunate, I've heard that guy is a slave driver about some things… so when's your relative coming?" Edo asked.

Alexis looked at her watch again.

"Ah! I need to go, I'll have just enough time to make it back there if I don't get lost, bye Edo, don't let your daughter buy anything stupid!" Alexis ran out of the store and back onto the hot streets, praying she wouldn't get lost.

_Just great…_

* * *

_R & R _


	5. Do you really eat frogs?

Responsibility

Responsibility

Chapter 5

Do you really eat frogs?

A/N: Quickly as I try to update, things constantly pop up- you know? I was supposed to update Sunday, but (as some of you know) I was at the state speech and debate tournament (3rd in the state in Varsity Duo Impromptu! Give it up people!) So here's the chapter- the next one is on loose-leaf by the way!

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The train station was dim and loud, bustling with people who seemed to have no respect for personal space. Alexis was running as fast as humanly possible to get Jamison Jr. off the train, knowing that if anything went wrong, his father would know. Despite the lack of light, she was clamping her giant sunglasses to her face, hoping she wouldn't be recognized. She knew she was going to be late as well as looking totally unpolished.

_Wait, what time is it? Someone needs to pick up Nick- I really hope he thought of that- it's not safe for her to take the subway home from that part of town. Of course he didn't think of that, he thinks anything is safe for them. What the hell was wrong with his parents, sending him to be raised in a hardcore boarding school somewhere in Tibet. Did I mention that he is CRAZY!? Because he is… waiting what was I doing… OH CRAP! _It became a little vulgar out of that.

She stood on the side, waiting for the train to pull in.

_I don't even know what he looks like. That little shit didn't tell me. He just loves to screw with me, doesn't he? Well clearly he does- I have the mental scars to prove it. Well he'll be French, that's slightly helpful, I hope. _

The train began to pull in and she backed up trying to get a good look at the passengers.

She began speaking in quick and fluent French, making a few people turn to stare.

Then she saw him, a tiny kid carrying a large suitcase. He had the same tan skin and brown hair as his father, but there was something different about his posture. He appeared to be dazed and confused.

"Jamison" She yelled- as she expected he turned and looked at her. She lifted her sunglasses and walked over to him.

"Are you Alexis?" He asked in a heavy accent.

"It's okay to use French, and yes I am" She said in French and smiled at him.

_So this is the spawn of Satan. He called me by my first name which is odd. He doesn't seem to be evil, well neither did his father at that age… well I was little. Okay, I have to treat him with respect because he's clearly reporting back to his father. Never thought I'd see the day when I was scared of a ten year old. _

"Good, I was frightened I wouldn't be able to recognize you." He said, looking truly relived.

"How was your trip?" She asked.

"Very long, people looked at me funny the whole way. Is everyone here Asian?" he asked, looking around.

"Well it is Japan, so yes." Alexis said, beginning to lead him out of the station.

"Do you have a car?" Jamison asked, looking around the crowded and busy streets.

"No, were taking a cab" Alexis said.

_Because Zane wont let me borrow his stupid car. Stupid chauvinistic moron, he totaled the last one, okay so it wasn't his fault, but that was the second time he had totaled it. Moron was trying to drive and duel at the same time. Geez, the only thing dumber than that would be trying to ride a motorcycle while dueling, which would be REALLY dumb… _

Jamison Jr. nodded his head.

"Jamison Jr. is there anything you would like to do while you're here?" Alexis asked.

"Jamie" He said quietly.

"What?" Alexis asked.

"Please call me Jamie" Jamie said looking up at her.

"Okay, Jamie it is" Alexis said, hailing a cab.

Zane was totally out of his element.

The etiquette school where Nick took her classes was a small building, but decorated in high elegance. There was a waiting room, a dining room which doubled as a makeshift "ballroom" and a cubicle which was referred to as an "office". The entire place was western style, and the faint sound of high heels clacking could be heard in a ten foot radius.

Zane was standing outside the building with his hand firmly on the handle. From the windows, he could see a gaggle of women standing around and talking. Many of them were dressed a bit too formally for early afternoon, in kimono's and formal dresses.

_On the count of three, one, two, three_.

He turned the handle and walked inside, the women all turned and looked at him.

"Wow, I've never met a father who was brave enough to pick up his daughter here" One of them said.

"Whose father are you?" A highly botoxed one asked.

Zane stood in a strong stance and said.

"Nick"

Which got some funny looks.

"I didn't know they allowed boys here" One said.

"Nick is short for Nicolette" Zane said, wincing at the full name. The issue with having a name such as Nicolette in Japan was how native speakers pronounced it "Nicorette" Which was, of course, a smoking quit aid. Hence the shortening to "Nick"

This got the women's attention, big time.

"Oh, the new girls father" they said, suddenly superior and giving sidelong glances.

"My daughter said there was a new girl in the class, somewhat of a tough little girl. I've heard that she had an unusual confidence for a girl of her age" An aristocratic air in her voice.

"Yes, she is. I don't see anything wrong with it" Zane said calmly.

"Well, etiquette school is supposed to teach them to act high class, but I've heard she was a girl with very commoner mannerisms" The woman answered.

"There is nothing wrong with that, she is not a purebred aristocrat, nor, in this day and age, should anyone try to pretend to be" Zane said, scanning the gaggle for the women who visibly became nervous on "Pretend"

_Third one to the left who looks like she hasn't moved her face in months due to botox, the one with the green kimono, the one with the long sleeved pink power suit, they are going to be the easy targets. _

"They only accept girls with high class backgrounds, they've turned many celebrities children away" The pink power suit said.

"Did I say anything to suggest that any of you are not whom you say you are? I am merely here to pick up my daughter." Zane said, feeling his phone buzz. _I'll let them be, I screwed with their minds enough. _

**1 new text message **

**A. Truesdale **

_**I picked him up, I'm coming home, and did you remember to pick Nick up?**_

He texted back

_**You are of little faith; I'm waiting for the class to end. Have you checked him for horns yet?**_

The women's conversation picked up quickly as Zane waited for his reply.

_**Yes, they seem to be smaller than his fathers. Just give him the benefit of the doubt okay?**__**Do you have work today?**_

Zane sighed, and texted back.

_**I took the day off, I have to work tomorrow, we have interviews, and the pre season is starting soon. **_

The doors to the "dining room" opened and everyone walked inside. The girls were all sitting around the table, perfectly straight backs, and tea cups were sitting on their saucers with the handles pointed just so.

"Hello parents, please allow your children to greet you in the manner of which they learned today, your checks are due on Wednesday, I will see you next week" A very old and cross woman said from the head of the table.

The girls all got up in unison and walked over to their respective parents.

Nicks brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun and she was wearing a dress that looked to be straight out of the early 1900's. A cute Lolita look.

"Daddy, I didn't know you were picking me up, can we get ice cream on the way home?" Nick said, jumping up and down. The women glared at her.

"No, your uncle is watching Xander and Luca, I don't want to leave him with them for too long" Zane said quietly, leading her by the hand and taking her outside.

"Today was fun, we got to learn how, and we learned how to do "tea appropriate" hair styles. I wanted to have a much more fun hair style, but all the other girls didn't want to do my hair because it was naturally lighter and they were all jealous. One of the girls said that she wanted to bleach her hair, but her mommy wouldn't let her. It was fun!" Nick said, skipping to the car.

Zane got into the drivers seat and sent a wary eye to the school.

_Its fun, but how long until she realizes she doesn't really belong there? _Zane thought.

They pulled into the driveway and walked inside the house. Atticus's European imported boots were carelessly tossed in the doorway.

_I'm not sure if I should be impressed that he even remembered to take off his shoes, or upset that my house probably looks like crap. _

Nicolette pulled off her Mary Jane's and ran into the kitchen.

"Change out of that dress before you eat!"

"So the French pig is coming?" Atticus asked, walking into the hallway.

"He's in the car" Zane explained.

"Mind if I leave?" He asked, warily eyeing the doorway.

"Sort of…" Zane answered.

"Fine, we'll play the waiting game… my favorite next to scrabble" Atticus sat on the couch and put his feet up.

"Atticus, you hate scrabble"

"Exactly"

The next one will be up ASAP and I mean it this time!


End file.
